Article separating packages for flat articles such as surgical supplies



PRATT PACKAGES FOR FLAT S SUCH AS SURGICAL SUPPLIES H. ARTICLE SEPARATING ARTICLE Filed Dec. 7. 1959 Jan. 17, 1961 W IENTOR.

o Wisconsin Lin ARTICLE SEPARATING PACKAGES FOR FLAT ARTICLES SUCH AS SURGICAL SUPPLIES lioliertfI-L ifratnl Q Pratt MfgwCor-p 'Iv'tauke'i, wislj assignor iii-panama; Milwaukee," Wis., a" corporation or This invention relates toimproveme'nts in article separating packages for fiat articles such as surgical suplies. N n Surgical sponges and like 'articles are oftenpackaged twos with the sponges superimposed "in the package. 1 Onewell known'type t package has adhesively secured flaps intermediate the depthof the package which may be moved angularly away from the front or the package to permitgripping'oi' theflower portion of the package betweeiifthe thumb and the forefinger of one d. The uppermostjof the" connected flaps 'may then, be pulled upwardly by the other hand to open the package, the paperof thelowerportionotLthe package protecting the sponges from contact, with the fingers of the grippingiha'nd. With thisrtype of package there is a problem of, separating the two sponges from each other for use one at same, It is either'necessary to re move both spongessimultaneously from the lpackage with a forceps for later separation, or it is necessary'to use two forcepsto separate the sponges whil 'e held in the package. Both methods are inconvenient time consuming. 1 H

Tvide an improved package for holding a plurality of hand Pr c ba he pap r Qfi e..n 91$ sf=- A more specific object ofthe inventi n is to t pro vide a package ofithe class descr ibed wherein} there is an inwardly projecting pleat ,at the'lower edgeof the package being broken away;

Patented Jan. 1?, lfifii 1 in which the same reference numeralsdesignate the same with the'folds at the lower edge of the package separated and with the adhesively connected flaps lifted upwardly at an angle and slightly separated, parts of the pack- Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1;

I Fig. 3 is an end edge view of the package in its unopened condition; and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view through the opened package showing how it is held just prior to -removal of a sponge. k g g Referring more particularly to the drawingflthe numeral 10 designates a single length of paper; preferably a relatively inexpensive, thin, non-transparent packaging paperlsu ch as white sulphite. The paper is, preferably of a somewhat porou's nature so that itcanbreathe. The upper edge of the package has a top fold Hjfrom one of the longitudinal edges of a bottom panelQlZ. The lower edge of the package has an inwardlyprojecting pleat hesively'connected as at 19 to a' tearing .flap 20 which .forms a continuation of another top pan'el'poit'iori 21 ofthe package The side edges of thelpackage are suitablyconnected or sealed as at 122 prefer-ablybyuse of an adhesive, and theside edges of the fold portions are similarlyfsealedvf The fold portion 14 is, however, left unconnected tothe'fold portion 13, so that it can easily be swung away-as in Figs. 1' and 2' to. permit insertion age with two fold portions, one accommodating thelower edge of one sponge and2 the, other ,fold por tion accommodating the; lower edge of the other; sponge. With this A .arrangementlthe forefinger of the left hand maybe inserted in the pleat between thetwo folds an the" bottom I of. the package, the thumb "being on the outside of one fold and the third finger on theoutside of the other fold. Then when the upper portion of the package is ripped open, one sponge may be readily removed-while the fingers tightly grip theother spongeto gprevent; its being pulled out before it is needed.- i i A further object of the invention is to provide an improved methodof wrapping superimposed fiat articles, 4

struction, neat in appearance, sanitary, and well adapted for the purposesgdesc ribed.

With the above and other objects in view, the inven tion consists of'the' improved package, and a ll at its parts i and combinations as set forth in the claims, and ail equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention,

of a'finger in the pleat betwe'en the folds .13 and 14.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the package contains two flat articles 23 and 24. ,These may be surgical sponges of the type commonly called cover sponges) The lower portion of one of the sponges is accommodatedwithin and protected on bothsides by the told 13, and the lower portion of theother sponge is accommodated in and protected on both sides by the fold The paper forming the pleat which. has the fold line 15 keeps these portions in. permanently separated condition. The upperportions of the sponges are in superimposed relationship 'as in Fig; 2.

In use of the package, the folds .13 and 14 are spread as'in Fig. 1, and the forefinger is inserted in .the pleat as in Fig.,4, the thumb gripping the panel portion 16 and the third finger gripping. the outer side of "the bottom panel. With this arrangement, one sponge is gripped between the thumb'and index finger and the other sponge is gripped between the index finger and third finger-with paper protecting the sponges from the fingers. Next,

the tearing flap portion 20isgripped with the right hand and ripped open to the condition of Fig. 4 to expose the upper portion of the sponges; If'the outer sponge is tobe removed first, thenurse' holding the package grips tlghtly with the index finger and third finger while loosenmg up with the thumb. The surgeo'ri or another nurse may thenr'eadilyremove' the ou er Spon e by the use of a forceps,.rwithout having the? second sponge come g with it, jThe second sponge'i'nay then be held-in this sanitary,

for it.

In the type of package commonly used heretofore, the

lower portions of both sponges were simultaneously protected manner, until the surgeon is ready gripped. It was therefore very diflicult if not impossible to remove one sponge without having the other one come with it.

With the present invention, both sponges are kept in perfectly sanitary condition until they are used, and the sponges are always kept separated from the fingers of the gripping hand by layers of paper.

While a package for two sponges has been illustrated and is the most common, it is entirely practical to package sponges in greater multiples with additional folds at the lower edge of the package.

The improved package may obviously be used for other items than sponges, wherever sanitation is a factor.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In a relatively fiat sanitary package having a bottom panel of paper, a first top panel portion folded from one edge of said bottom panel and closing part only of the top of the package and having a top transversely extending tearing flap intermediate the depth of the package, a pleat projecting inwardly from and disposed above the opposite edge of the bottom panel and providing lower and upper fold portions, said upper fold portion having a top side extending toward said first mentioned top portion and providing asecond top panel portion closing the rest of the top of the package and having a flap connected to said tearing flap, said flaps being normally in parallelism with and against said second top panel portion, a fiat article in the package having part accommodated in and protected on both sides by said lower fold portion, and another fiat article in said package having part accommodated in and protected on both sides by said upper fold portion whereby with the index finger of one hand inserted in said pleat and with other fingers of the same hand engaging the outside of said fold portions the articles are individually gripped in the fingers while the tearing flap is being pulled by the other hand to open the top of the package.

2. In a relatively fiat sanitary package having a bottom panel of paper, a first top panel portion folded from one edge of said bottom panel and closing part only of the top of the package and having a top transversely extending tearing flap intermediate the depth of the package, a pleat projecting inwardly from and disposed above the opposite edge of the bottom panel and providing lower and upper fold portions, said upper fold portion having a top side extending toward said first mentioned top portion and providing a second top panel portion closing the rest of the top of the package and having a flap adhesively connected to said tearing flap with the latter having a free pulling portion outwardly of the adhesive connection between flaps, said flaps being normally in parallelism with and against said second top panel portion, a fiat article in the package having part accommodated in and protected on both sides by said lower fold portion and another flat article in said package having part accommodated in and protected on both sides by said upper fold portion whereby with the index finger of one hand inserted in said pleat and with other fingers of the same hand engaging the outside of said fold portions the articles are individually gripped in the fingers while the tearing fiap is being pulled by the other hand to open the top of the package.

3. In a relatively fiat sanitary package having a bottom panel of paper, a first top panel portion folded from the upper edge of said bottom panel and closing part only of the top of the package and having a top transversely extending tearing flap intermediate the depth of the package, means sealingly connecting the side edges of said bottom panel with corresponding portions of said top panel portion, a pleat projecting inwardly from and disposed above the lower edge of the bottom panel and providing lower and upper fold portions having sealingly connected side edges, said upper fold portion having a top side extending toward said first mentioned top portion and providing a second top panel portion closing the rest of the topof the package and having a flap secured to said tearing flap, said flaps being normally in parallelism with and against said second top portion, a fiat article in the package having part accommodated in and protected on both sides by said lower fold, and another fiat article in said package having part accommodated in and protected on both sides by said upper fold portion whereby with the index finger of one hand inserted in said pleat and with other fingers of the same hand engaging the outside of said fold portions the articles are indi' vidually gripped in the fingers while the tearing flap is being pulled by the other hand to open the top of the package.

4. A package comprising a rear panel of paper having upper, lower and side edges and having a first top panel portion folded over from said upper edge and having a sealing flap intermediate the depth of the package, means connecting side edges of said bottom panel to corresponding edges of said first top panel portion, superimposed relatively flat articles on said rear panel having upper portions covered by said first top panel poition, a second top panel portion closing the rest of the top of the package and having a lower edge and having a flap opposite said lower edge secured to said sealing flap, a connection between said lower edge of said bottom panel and said lower edge of said second top panel portion including an inwardly projecting pleat extending between and separating lower portions of the flat articles whereby with the index finger of one hand inserted in said pleat, and with other fingers of the same hand engaging the bottom and top of the package, the fiat articles are individually gripped while the other hand is ripping open the package by an upward pull on said tearing flap, the side edges of said pleat being sealed to the adjacent side edges of the top and bottom panels.

5. The method of wrapping superimposed fiat articles comprising placing said articles on a portion of an elongated paper sheet intermediate the length of the sheet and forming a back panel, folding an upper portion of the sheet over the upper edges of the superimposed articles and downwardly part way over the articles leaving a tearing flap portion, folding a lower portion of the sheet inwardly for a limited distance between the lower portions of the articles, outwardly again, and then over the top of the uppermost article a limited distance to meet said downwardly folded portion, and then outwardly in the form of a flap, adhesively connecting said flaps together, and adhesively connecting the side edges of the package together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 173,718 Cargill Dec. 28, 1954 2,721,550 Banff Oct. 25, 1955 2,725,180 Balle Nov. 29, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 308,355 Germany June 14, 1913 

